1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling installations (refrigeration or air-conditioning) in which the cooling liquid to be cooled is processed inside a heat exchanger of intratubular type traversed by a two-phase refrigerant.
2. History of the Related Art
As very diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1 of the hereto accompanying illustrations, such an exchanger is generally available in the form of a cylindrical compartment 1, closed at each of its extremities by two end plates 2 and 3. Directly behind the end plate 3 is provided a transversal divider 4 with bore holes, being the space between the end plate 3 and this partition 4 divided by a diametrical wall 5 into two separate chambers, namely, an inlet chamber 6 and an outlet chamber 7, each of which chambers is provided with a conduit or tube 8 and 9, respectively, connected to a source of pressurized refrigerant.
The space 10 constituted between the partition 4 and the end plate 2 comprises a multitude of loop-shaped heat exchange tubes 11 or of rectilinear sections with elbows, the ends of which are inserted into the holes of the partition 4 so as to ensure the linkage between the chambers 6 and 7 for the circulation of the refrigerant. The cooling liquid (water or another fluid) is admitted into the space 10 of the compartment 1 by means of an inlet tube 12 and goes out through an outlet tube 13 after having been cooled by contact with the looped tubes 11.
Because of the two-phase nature of the used refrigerant (most frequently of the type known by its reference, R22), it is obviously necessary to provide adequate means to ensure the homogeneity of the liquid that fills that inlet chamber 6, so that the various tubes 11 are replenished in a steady manner. In practice, this result is obtained by providing inside the discharge of the tube 8 a two-phase distributor diagrammatically represented by A, generally of such type as shown in FIG. 2.
As a matter of fact, it deals with a solid piece 14 that is obtained by machining, presenting:
a cylindrical extremity 14a inserted into the tube 8 with an axially drilled opening shaped to define a Venturi tube 14b (which is possible replaced by an attached diaphragm); PA1 a conical central section 14c whose point is turned toward the Venturi tube 14b; PA1 and an open, truncated shaped extremity 14d opposite to said tube 14b, which extremity is provided with a series of divergent channels 14e.
Such a two-phased distributor gives excellent results but its cost price is very high due to the machining necessary for its manufacture.